Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Talbot and his organisation for their submission. As we stated to our previous guests, it is important that the committee obtain a cross-section of opinion on the Local Government Bill in order that members might - when they have analysed and scrutinised the legislation - amend it, where possible, on Committee Stage. My party is opposed to the Bill in principle because it does not agree with abolition of town councils to the extent proposed. We recognise that there is a need for streamlining and that the level of duplication must be addressed, but not to the extent proposed. We are of the view that what is being done is merely a cost-saving and populist exercise on the Government's part.

I am cognisant of the relevance of and the regard for the institutions of the State. That was significant in the referendum result, for example, in respect of the Seanad. That is an aside. We were afraid it might be at the expense of local democracy. That is the background of where we come from. That said, we recognise the democratic process and what is expected in the numbers in terms of legislation. We must seek to raise issues where we consider it necessary to do so, seek change where we believe it necessary, with the consent of the Government parties, and seek consensus on the legislation that will go through the House. To that end, we welcome the witnesses' detailed analysis of what is contained in the Bill and any amendments they consider may be necessary from their perspective in order to help their members throughout the country. We recognise there are up to 800,000 people in small and medium-sized enterprises who are affiliated to Chambers Ireland. We have all worked closely with various chambers throughout the country and continue to do so.

The most pressing issue in all our towns and cities these days is that of commercial viability against a background of strained realities, and costs are looked at in every sense. While commercial rent has decreased substantially, commercial rates have not. We are pursuing a complete overhaul of the commercial rates system with a view to putting in place a system that is cognisant of existing rents, turnover and ability to pay in an effort to seek to address the imbalance that has grown in respect of out-of-town and town centre viability and vibrancy. We hope to make amendments in order to address that issue.

The other point made was that municipal authorities and so forth may be just a window-dressing exercise, giving the impression that there is autonomy or power within them. From my analysis of the legislation, I do not think that is the case. The big issue, again, is that of rates and how they might be rebalanced as between county and town rates or county and city rates, and there is talk of a 10% variance up or down that has to be addressed over a ten-year period. The witnesses' comments in that regard would be welcome also.

The amalgamation within the local authorities of local development companies is a concept we welcome. However, the mechanism is another issue. We hope there is agreement by negotiation with the staff rather than imposition in order to ensure a smooth move and its success into the future. There is no doubt that many councillors would favour that move by virtue of the accountability they bring to the table in terms of how the money in the public purse is spent. I welcome that and hope the negotiations come to a speedy conclusion with a view to the move taking place in the new year.

I thank the witnesses for their submission and look forward to further submissions from them in respect of Committee Stage of the Bill.